Start Out
Develop a research question on a topic that you care about. I’ll approve it. Your guardian will approve it.
Away we go!
mid-january
Develop a research question on a topic that you care about. I’ll approve it. Your guardian will approve it.
Away we go!
late january
Use the databases to find reliable and applicable articles about your subject. You need at least 8 from the MTA Library databases with at least 10 total sources.
feb-march
Paraphrase or direct quote “chunks” of information onto notecards or a note-taking spreadsheet. Make sure to include the source for each note, as well as a general subtopic for easy sorting later.
feb-march
Every night after you have taken notes, look over all the notes you have compiled so far. Do this even if you have just started taking notes. Look over your notes, noting interesting recurring patterns in your data, or interesting questions that pop up. The point is that you must analyze your notes as you do your research. Constant analysis will suggest themes to look for when researching, and will help shape further research.
early march
Find an “expert” to interview about your topic. Prepare open-ended questions for your interview and record it. Generate notes from the interview just as you would from a written source.
mid march
After analyzing your notes, prepare an outline of your paper. An outline is your tentative scheme for organizing and writing the paper. The main purpose of the outline is to determine the structure of your paper.
mid march 2026
Once you have a good collection of notes (you needn't have finished all of your research) and an outline, you should write a first draft of your final paper. Arrange your notes according to your outline. A first draft will challenge you to articulate ideas that have been floating around in your head.
late march
Evaluate and edit your first draft. After reconsidering your paper, write your final draft, revising your first draft and incorporating the extra research you have completed.
early april
Based upon your journal log entries and your memorable experiences, the reflection paper recounts what you’ve done and tries to get at what you’ve learned. This is actually fun. You get to gloat. You get to gripe. You get to reflect back on how the research project went for you in a narrative way.